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Technology Stocks : America On-Line (AOL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jhg_in_kc who wrote (24879)	7/5/1999 3:52:00 AM
From: DOUG H	Respond to of 41369

that if a giant marketing push were undertaken by giant companies like ATT/MSFT to provide FREE service that AOL might lose its membership base-and fast. Why would anyone pay 22 a month as I am now doing if a comparable service were free? Of course, this presumes it could be profitable, the free service.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I'm trying to think of a good reason why MSFT would want to give thier $20/mo. away for MSN. What OS is on the $400 box? How much does MSFT make from selling operating systems? What would happpen to that? D.H.

To: jhg_in_kc who wrote (24879)	7/5/1999 7:09:00 AM
From: tang	Respond to of 41369

jhg_in_kc, you seems a worrisome type person but you are greedy too (assume you are indeed an AOL long), you should take profit and sell AOL here if you are in + territory, or you should buy puts here to protect your AOL shares (again, if you are an AOL long). The mix of greed and whine is definitely no good to your health, of course, if you are an AOL short, you reason is obvious...

To: jhg_in_kc who wrote (24879)	7/5/1999 7:17:00 AM
From: Vendit™	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 41369

jhg_in_kc Re: Why would anyone pay 22 a month as I am now doing if a comparable service were free? Answer: Content, Mobile access, Chat features, Keeping ones email address, User friendliness, One stop shopping to name a few reasons. I like AOL,s aggressiveness but it worries me that if a giant marketing push were undertaken by giant companies like ATT/MSFT to provide FREE service that AOL might lose its membership base-and fast. T and MSFT have both been in the ISP business about as long as AOL. Why does AOL have over half of the worlds ISP population? The # of AOL subscribers will exceed 35 million in two years. AOL consumes over 50% of the worlds manufactured compact disks and uses them to spam the world with AOL access.

To: jhg_in_kc who wrote (24879)	7/5/1999 1:04:00 PM
From: LarryCPA	Respond to of 41369

I just got the E-machine free deal for my father today, besides the boost to AOL, I also got to support my CC <g>. My fathers reason for finally biting the bullet and going online? Real player Radio of out of town sports. Anyway to add my .02. Speed rules!!! My father hasn't logged on yet and is asking about a cable modem. A study has found that if you don't get a page in 8 seconds you leave. Free services, from what I understand, are very slow as they have more advertising than even AOL.(I must admit I've haven seen AOL in over 5 years, and I think of it as for non-power users. That is just my impression and I might be wrong, I only know the marketing that reached me) So I think that it is imperative for AOL to arrange not only for DSL but cable access. (Partnering with NPNT and HSAC perhaps). As the internet saturates the market, AOL must come up with a way to retain their base, and give them the speed they will crave. At $100 to get each new customer, IMHO retention is key. Remember there is no such thing as a free lunch, or a free internet connection. Larry